Mother

Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, who may or may not be their biological offspring. Thus, dependent on the context, women can be considered mothers by virtue of having given birth, by raising their child(ren), supplying their ovum for fertilization, or some combination thereof. Such conditions provide a way of delineating the concept of motherhood, or the state of being a mother. Women who meet the third and first categories usually fall under the terms 'birth mother' or 'biological mother', regardless of whether the individual in question goes on to parent their child. Accordingly, a woman who meets only the second condition may be considered an adoptive mother, and those who meet only the third a surrogacy mother.

The above concepts defining the role of mother are neither exhaustive nor universal, as any definition of 'mother' may differ based on how social, cultural, and religious roles are defined. The parallel conditions and terms for males: those who are (typically biologically) fathers do not, by definition, take up the role of fatherhood. It should also be noted that mother and fatherhood are not limited to those who are or have parented. Women who are pregnant may be referred to as expectant mothers or mothers-to-be, though such applications tend to be less readily applied to (biological) fathers or adoptive parents.

Mother (Natalie Maines album)

Mother is the first solo studio album by American singer Natalie Maines, best known as the lead vocalist of the Dixie Chicks. It was released on May 7, 2013.

Background

Mother is Natalie Maines' first album since the Dixie Chicks' Grammy-sweeping Taking the Long Way in 2006, and comes ten years after the Dixie Chicks were boycotted and banned by country radio for Maines' criticism of U.S. President George W. Bush in 2003. In her seven-year absence from the recording industry, Maines expressed a lack of interest in modern country music.

In June 2012, Maines announced the project on a Howard 100 News broadcast, stating, "I'm making an album, I think." On October 6, she confirmed on Twitter that it would be a rock album, and her first without the Dixie Chicks. Recording completed on December 19. It will include both original music and covers.

Mother (The Avengers)

"Mother" is a fictional character in British TV seriesThe Avengers. "Mother" is a codename. In the series the incumbent in the role is a wheelchair-bound male British government official. He made his debut in "The Forget-Me-Knot", which was Emma Peel's final episode and Tara King's first. In subsequent episodes he gives orders to John Steed and Tara King. He appears in most episodes of series six, the last season of the series. In the television series Mother is portrayed by Patrick Newell.

Actor Patrick Newell had played various characters in previous episodes of The Avengers, most recently Sir George Collins, a sometime Minister of the Crown and close relative of the Attorney General, in season five's "Something Nasty in the Nursery".

Bases and locations

In spite of his disability he seems mobile, continuously moving his headquarters from such traditional locations as a stately home to more eccentric locales such as a double-decker bus or under water. Mother has a new base in practically every episode. The plots of several episodes involve attempts to assassinate Mother, so these moves are presumably a security measure.

Africa (film)

Africa is a 1930 Walter Lantz cartoon short featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Plot

Oswald was riding through the Egyptian desert on his camel. The camel, though looking real on the exterior, is actually mechanical because of the two ball-shaped pistons inside which Oswald manipulates with his feet like bike pedals. One day, a lion was running toward them. To defend himself, Oswald brought out a rifle but it malfunctioned. As a final resort, Oswald fired the ball pistons from the camel like a cannon and aimed into the lion's mouth. Terrified by its lumpy back, the lion runs away in panic.

Nearby where he is, Oswald saw an oasis and a palace. Upon seeing the apes dance and play instruments, the curious rabbit decides to join the fun. As he entered the palace, Oswald was greeted by the queen. The queen asked him who he is, and Oswald introduced himself in a song as well as giving advice for a possibly better lifestyle. Pleased by his visit, the queen asked Oswald if he would like to be her king. Oswald was at first uncertain, knowing he never met a queen, but immediately accepted. It turns out momentarily that the queen still has a king who shows up then throws Oswald out of the palace and into a pond full of crocodiles. Luckily, Oswald escapes unscathed and runs off into the desert.

Circus (Chiaki Kuriyama album)

Circus (stylised as CIRCUS) is the album by Japanese musician and actress Chiaki Kuriyama, which was released on March 16, 2011. Kuriyama collaborated with famous Japanese and overseas rock musicians to create the album. In January 2012, the album was re-released as a deluxe edition, featuring the single "Tsukiyo no Shōzō" and its B-side "Seishun no Matataki""

Background and development

Kuriyama made her musical debut in early 2010, with the single "Ryūsei no Namida" that was used as the theme song for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Her next two singles were also used for anime: "Kanōsei Girl" (2010) was used as the third opening theme song for Yorinuki Gintama-san and "Cold Finger Girl" as the opening theme song for Level E.

After "Ryūsei no Namida", Kuriyama wanted to collaborate with many of her favourite musicians. She was asked by her musical director to draw up a list of her favourite musicians, and her staff asked them if they wanted to write music for Kuriyama. All of the musicians on the list accepted. From her second single, "Kanōsei Girl", Kuriyama began collaborating with famous rock musicians on her singles. "Kanōsei Girl" was produced by Tomoyasu Hotei, while "Cold Finger Girl" was produced by Kenichi Asai, and "Oishii Kisetsu" / "Ketteiteki Sanpunkan" by Ringo Sheena.

Upon its release, Circus received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its production but were ambivalent towards its lyrical content. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over 505,000 copies, making it her fifth album to reach the top of the chart. The album topped charts in nine additional countries. The record eventually exceeded sales of 3.5 million copies and 15 million digital tracks, in doing so it became Spears' best-selling album since her fourth studio album In the Zone (2003). The project was promoted through a series of television performances and Spears' fifth concert tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears. The latter generated controversy during the Australian leg after accusations of lip-syncing surfaced.

Starring the glamorous and immensely popular Lyubov Orlova (Aleksandrov's wife), the first recognized star of Soviet cinema and a gifted singer, the film contains several songs which instantly became Soviet classics. The most famous is the "Song of the Motherland" (Широка страна моя родная).

The film was based on a comedy play by Ilf and Petrov and Valentin Kataev, Under the Circus Dome (Под куполом цирка), which was seen and liked by Aleksandrov. They made the play into the plot, but during the initial film shooting they went to America. Upon return, they disliked the director's interpretation, and after a conflict they abandoned the work, forbade the mention of their names in the credits, and further work on the plot was continued by Isaac Babel.